Saturday, 3 November 2012

Sir Alex Ferguson has no fresh injuries or suspensions to contend with ahead of Saturday's clash with the Gunners, so the Manchester United boss is likely to ring in the changes from the midweek Capital One Cup defeat at Chelsea and name the same side that beat the Blues 3-2 in the Premier League last Sunday.Robin van Persie will lead the line for the Red Devils against his old club with Wayne Rooney assuming a deeper role once again, with support from Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young on the wings.

Shinji Kagawa (knee) has been ruled out until the end of November, while Nemanja Vidic (knee) is still out. Phil Jones (knee) and Chris Smalling (metatarsal) are both nearing a return but Saturday may be too soon for either to launch a comeback.

Arsenal will have to cope without their top scorer in the league Gervinho after the Ivory Coast international injured his ankle after coming on as a sub against QPR last week, meaning Arsene Wenger is likely to stick with the team that forced a late win over Mark Hughes' side.

Kieran Gibbs (hip) is still out for the Gunners, meaning Andre Santos will continue at left-back, while Vito Mannone will start in goal with Wojciech Szczesny (ankle) still fighting to recover.

Theo Walcott is pushing for a start after his midweek Capital One Cup heroics against Reading, but it is more likely that Wenger will keep the England international on the bench after 120 minutes of football